Hydraulic clutch.



W. J. VINCENT & J. V. HARRISON.

HYDRAULIC CLUTCH. APPLICATION FILED AUG.12, 1910.

2 8HEETSSHEET 1.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

Y W. J. VINCENT & J. V. HARRISON.

HYDRAULIC CLUTCH. APPLICATION FILED M6 2, 1910.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

2 BHEETi-SHEET 2.

Fl] G14.

0 ga a UNITED STATEfi RAEENT GFFICE.

WILLIAM JOHN VINCENT, F CARDIFF, AND JAMES VICTOR HARRISON, OF PENARTH, NEAR CARDIFF, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO THE ROTOPLUNGE PUMP COMPANY,

LIMITED, OF CARDIFF, ENGLAND.

HYDRAULIC CLUTCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

T 0 all whom "it may concern:

Be it knownthat we, XVILLIAM. J oiix V1 CENT and JAMES VIo'ron IIARRISUX, subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing, respectively, at East Bate Docks, Cardiff, and Fair View, Cwrt-y-vil Road, Penarth, near Cardiff, both in the county of Glai'norgan.

- closing the valve more or less the relative speed of the two shafts can be varied.

The invention consists in the selection for this purpose of the type of pump described in the specification of BritislrLetters Patent No. 10263 of 1908 and formed of an outer casing and a drum having in it cylinders with radially moving pistons. This type of pump is found to be peculiarly suitable to the purpose because there is little leakage from the delivery to the suction'even when it is exposed to the high pressures which result from its use as a clutch whereas other types of pump which are fairly efiicient when used as pumps leak seriously when used as clutches.

Figure l is-a central longitudinal section of a clutch constructed according to this invention and Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22, Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4: show a moditicm tion of one of the details.

1 is the driving shaft and 2 the driven shaft the former having fixed to it the central c lindrical block 3 while the latter is fixed to the casing 41: of the pump which is free to revolve on the shaft 1. The block 3 has formed in it a number of cylindrical holes 5 which constitute the pump barrels.

.3 are pistons in the barrels 5, their inner faces having fixed t9 them cross bars the ends of which carry rollers 8 working in grooves 9 formed in the casing, these grooves being eccentric to the shafts so that as the shaft 1 revolves relatively to the casing a the pistons 6 move in and out radially.

In Fig. 2 the shaft 1 may be assumed to be rotating clockwise relatively to the casing 4, the right hand portion 10 -of the space between the casing 4 and the block 3 being the suction side of the pump and the left hand portion 11 the delivery side. These two spaces are separated by stops 34 on the casing but connected by the passage 12 which can be closed by the valve 13. This passage is however shown open in the drawings. In Fig. 2 the upper piston is at the end of its out-stroke, the right hand piston .is moving inward, its cylinder being half full of liquid drawn in from the space 10, the bottom piston is at the end of its in-stroke, its cylinder being full of liquid which is imprisoned because the outer end of the cylinder is closed by the casing 4; the left hand piston half out and half of the liquid has been expelled from its cylinder into the space '11. Since the valve 13 is fully open the liquid can pass freely from the space 11 to the space 10 and there is nothing to turn the shaft 2 which remains stationary while the shaft 1 re volvcs. When however the valve 13' is fully closed the pressure of the liquid in the space 11 against the left hand side of the valve carries the casing ataround with the shaft 1 and the two shafts revolve together at the same speeds. By partially opening the valve 13 the pressure a ainst its left. hand face can be regulated and the speed of the shaft 2 relatively to the shaft 1 be controlled. The

valve 13 is opened and closed by the lever 14c pivoted at 15 to the casing and having its end connected to the collar 16 free to slide on the shaft 2 and operated in the ordinary way by a fork (not shown) Passages 17 are formed through the valve so as to equalize the pressure against its two ends and thus "allow it to be easily moved.

Tight joints are made against the fiat sides of the block 3 by means of rings situated in annular grooves in the casing 4.- and pressed against the block by springs 15). A small clearance is provided so that liquid can get behind the rings, its pressure aiding tliesprings in making a tight joint.

20 is a brake drum fixed to the casing In the modification shown at Figs. 3 and -'l-, 21 is a ring having a groove 22 :in it. A pair of these rings are placed in the annular grooves 9 in the casing land the ends of the cross bars 7 are received in the grooves 22 the rollers 8 being dispensed with. In order to allow the rings 21 to revolve freely, live rings of rollers 23 are interposed between one side of them and the sides of the grooves in the casing &. 24 is a, steel bearing ring on which the rollers run. 2-5 are holes, which can be closed by screw plugs, provided to enable the rods 7 to be put into place and '26 (Fig. 1) are corresponding screw plugs in the casing 4:.

In order to reverse the direction of H10- tion of the shaft 2 the following arrange ment may be adopted :27 is a shaft working in a hearing 28 pivoted at 29 and capable of being rocked by the handle 30. This shaft has fixed to it friction wheels 31 and 32 which when the handle is moved to the left (Fig. 1) are pressed respectively against a friction wheel 33 fixed to the shaft 1 and the inner periphery of the brake drum 20' Or the same result. may be obtained by male ing the portions of the casing 4 in which the eccentric groove's 9 are formed separate from the remainder of the casing and providing means whereby these portions of the casing 1 be turned through an angle of 180 rela tlvely to the remainder. \Vhen they are so turned the space 10 becomes the delivery instead of the suction and the space 11 the 'suction instead of the delivery and the direction of rotation of the shaft 2 is therefore reversed.

Vhat we claim is The combination of a casing, a drum eccentric to the casing and adapted to rotate within and in contact at one point with it, radial pump cylinders formed in the drum, pistons in the cylinders, stops on the casing dividing the space between the drum and easing into two parts, a passage connecting these two parts, a valve in the passage, means for regulating the opening of the valve, two shafts fast the one with the casing and the other with the drum, and means for moving the pistons in their cylinders when there is relative motion between the drum and casing in such manner that each piston is at its inmost position when the axis of its cylinder comes to the point of contact of the drum and casin g.

WILLIAM JOHN VINCENT. JAMES VICTOR HARRISON.

\Vitnesses JOHN IIENRY MORGAN, Fnnnnnrcn JAMES HANCOX. 

